1/29/2023 football Edit

QUAACK: Oregon lands commitment from 2024 edge rusher Jaxson Jones

Matt Moreno • DuckSportsAuthority

Recruiting Analyst

Matt began his career at Rivals in 2011 as recruiting editor and then publisher for Arizona affiliate, GOAZCATS.com. In 2022, he moved into an expanded role covering Pac-12 recruiting for Rivals.

Jaxson Jones will be following the family lineage by playing for a Pac-12 program, only it won’t be the one he was committed to last week. The 6-foot-3 edge rusher from Yuma Catholic in Yuma, Arizona became the latest commitment for Oregon on Sunday after his dad, Daniel Jones who played at Utah, announced his son’s choice on Twitter.

Jaxson quickly followed that up with a tweet of his own announcing the decision. Things came together quickly between Jones and the Ducks. He was offered by Dan Lanning’s staff in October during a stretch when he picked up offers from USC, Notre Dame and Utah, but he had already decided to commit to Washington by that point.

Earlier this week, the 2024 prospect decided to back away from that months-long commitment to the Huskies before announcing a weekend visit to Oregon. By the end of that trip, Jones became the Ducks’ fifth commitment in the class, which now ranks ninth overall in the Rivals team recruiting rankings.

Jones is the first defensive prospect to commit to Oregon in the 2024 cycle, and he is a prospect who has continued to see his stock rise since the beginning of his junior season at Yuma Catholic.

The new Oregon commit was tied for seventh among all players in Arizona with 17 sacks during the 2022 season. He also collected 96 total tackles and 22 tackles for loss to go with three fumble recoveries and two blocked field goals.

Despite being committed to Washington, Jones continued to keep his options open and take other visits while indicating that he would have no hesitation about flipping his commitment should he find the right fit. He made the trip to USC to see the Trojans play Notre Dame late in the season.

Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Oregon State, Boston College and Fresno State are some of the other schools that have offered Jones. In all, he holds 17 offers this winter.

Oregon’s other 2024 commits include four-star receivers Jordan Anderson and Tyseer Denmark, four-star tight end AJ Pugliano and offensive line prospect Fox Crader. All five of the Ducks’ early commitments for the class come from five different states as Oregon continues to expand its reach across the country.